Town's wind farm project to net £10m

CONSTRUCTION work on a £15 million wind farm which is the first project of its kind in Scotland will get under way three years after it was first proposed.

CONSTRUCTION work on a £15 million wind farm which is the first project of its kind in Scotland will get under way three years after it was first proposed.

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Phil Miller

The Community Wind Farm in Neilston, East Renfrewshire, could earn the local community £10 million over the next 25 years.

Four turbines that can create 10 megawatts – about twice Neilston's consumption of energy a year – will be constructed on the site of the old Drumgrain landfill on the Kingston Road.

The electricity will be sent into the grid, contributing to Scotland's national targets for green energy, with the community of Neilston sharing in the profits from the energy sold.

The scheme is a joint venture between Neilston Development Trust and Carbon Free Developments Limited, a small commercial windfarm developer.

Neilston's Town Charter lists more than 40 community projects which will be the focus for the income.

Andrew Jones, chair of Neilston Community Trust, said: "This will be the first windfarm in Scotland to be developed by a commercial company and a community in a Limited Liability Partnership.

"Not only will it make an incredible difference to the future of our community, but it will also go some way towards achieving the Scottish Government's target of 500 megawatts of community and locally-owned renewable energy by 2020."

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